From Grinding Life Skills

From Grinding Life Skills

In his previous life, Romain had played a mobile game called "Noah's Ark," whose mechanics were rather complex.

It involved multiple game modes, including character development, business simulation, real-time strategy, expeditions, and deployments.

When Romain entered high school in his previous life, his studies became demanding. Seeking a brief moment of peace, he chose "Noah's Ark" as a distraction.

But a person's energy was limited. Especially in his senior year, squeezing out half an hour for gaming was practically suicidal. Sure enough, he collapsed on the eve of the college entrance exams.

As for that miserable ending, Romain could only say that he had brought it upon himself and deserved to die.

Then, when he opened his eyes, he found himself in this damned medieval world, complete with every sort of fantastical legend.

Fortunately, he had been born in Rome. "Noah's Ark" had also descended into his mind.

Though he had no idea whether it was because of transmigration or a lost connection or something else.

The UI for "Noah's Ark" had remained stuck loading...

Romain had nearly resigned himself to fate, thinking this would be his life from now on.

He had lived here for over a decade. Even his brain had been replaced. Now, like Zhang Wuji after learning Tai Chi, he had forgotten everything except the basic awareness of being a transmigrator.

The current level of civilization was probably in the early medieval period.

The nobles' decadence and corruption made him frown. Even the renowned Armor-Splitting Family was no exception.

Romain knew this was a limitation of the era, but that did not mean he was indifferent to the current state of affairs.

On the other hand, as a beneficiary of the system, there was no need for him to act against the tide before he had the strength to do so. That would be no different from courting death.

It was not until "Noah's Ark" finally finished loading a few days ago that he finally had a foundation to seize his future.

Fuck!

He could not spend another day as this noble young master!

I'm splitting from the family!

Romain had an extremely pessimistic view of the Armored Breaker family's future.

War was about to break out, and an unprecedentedly terrifying storm was brewing.

And a fallen family was difficult to awaken.

Rather than suck blood and marrow from the lower classes alongside the other nobles, he might as well exile himself.

How could he shatter this medieval age while staying with this bunch of vermin?

To other nobles, this treatment was no different from being banished to Ningguta or exiled to Lingnan.

But Romain felt that this wilderness was merely undeveloped.

And if he could not develop it, that was fine. At worst, he could keep his head down and build up for a few years, then fight his way out and seize someone else's territory.

After all, the world was vast, and there was much to be done.

What is your name?

'Romain.' He had been accustomed to this name in both lives.

Destiny created successfully

A 3D figure immediately appeared on the interface, with the label Destiny Romain floating above its head.

Destiny was the universal term for players.

After waiting all these years, Romain had finally entered the game's internal interface.

The developers had blended several different game modes into "Noah's Ark."

What gave him a headache was that, with a newly created account, only the Tale of Survival function was available in "Noah's Ark."

Tale of Survival was a business simulation mode.

Simply put, it meant grinding life skills: farming, chopping trees, quarrying stone, mining, and building a farm.

Yet the core of this mobile game was drawing and developing characters.

The characters developed in "Noah's Ark" were collectively known as Apostles.

Romain vaguely remembered that he needed to recruit Apostles through the Recruitment Pool, raise their levels and skills, then dispatch them into battle or send them on expeditions...

The other modes were unavailable because Romain had no Apostles.

Daily sign-in: Obtained 100 Origin Stones

The sign-in system still worked. Unfortunately, there was no beginner benefit that guaranteed a six-star character within ten pulls.

Romain noticed that recruiting one Apostle required 160 Origin Stones.

With only 100 Origin Stones, he could not conduct his first recruitment. Even the Recruitment Pool was grayed out and inaccessible.

Besides, relying solely on sign-in rewards to recruit Apostles was like a drop in the bucket. The resources were nowhere near enough, and he needed other ways to obtain Origin Stones.

Romain was in no hurry. He still did not know what kind of impact "Noah's Ark" would have on this world.

So there was no need to rush the matter of recruiting Apostles. He would save the hundred Origin Stones from each daily sign-in for now; it was his only benefit.

He had only just arrived, and he did not even have a place to live yet. It was better to proceed steadily.

Romain directly tapped the Tale of Survival icon.

Tale of Survival... successfully loaded

Other modes awaiting unlock

Loading...

You have successfully obtained a farm, but it is still too early to speak of a good life. You still need to build a house, cultivate land, clear weeds, chop wood, mine ore...

Though you have nothing, there is still much for you to do

As long as you work hard enough, you can make this farm more prosperous

What is your farm's name?

'Origin.' Romain valued this land greatly. It represented the beginning of this life.

Then Romain watched as the interface changed.

A pixel-art scene appeared.

A little pixel figure stood before a green hillside, near a water source and backed by a forest.

'So the game's setting corresponds to reality?' Romain pondered.

That little figure was naturally himself.

"Noah's Ark" had clearly recognized the area before him as a farm.

He zoomed out from the god's-eye view and discovered that the farm covered an enormous range. It seemed to regard his fief as his farm, which was indeed the actual situation. But perhaps due to the limits of his own vision, the places he had not reached appeared completely blank.

There was only his lone pixel figure.

That was perfectly normal. He needed to work with his own hands to provide for himself.

Mol had explained himself until his mouth was dry.

But Romain Armor-Splitting gave no response at all to his excuses.

His expression was calm as he stared into empty space for a long time.

Already anxious, Agricultural Officer Mol began to feel his legs tremble at the sight.

If Romain Armor-Splitting had shown displeasure or anger, Mol would have felt somewhat reassured. At least he would know how the lord truly felt.

But Romain's face was as calm as a cold abyssal pool, as though he were examining something. That made Mol's heart quiver with fear.

Scenes of what might happen next flashed through Mol's mind—under Lord Romain's icy gaze, the two knights behind him stepped forward and mercilessly tore apart his fine, respectable clothes. Then they threw his pale, fat body into the pigsty. He despaired and cried out, but Lord Romain merely gave him a cold glance, as if looking at some filthy pig, before turning away without mercy. Mol was left to howl in agony, then lower his head and fight the pigs for food...

Only after naming the farm Origin did Romain have time to look at Mol, who had been talking about something from the very beginning.

"What did you say just now?"

Mol hurriedly repeated himself.

Romain nodded. Seeing that it was still early, he headed toward the hillside.

"My lord, construction here is not yet complete. Give me one—no, half a month, and I will build a manor that satisfies you..." Mol anxiously followed behind Romain. The moment he returned, he intended to drag all those Commoners over for forced labor. Your Agricultural Officer's head was about to fall off, and you were still busy with spring plowing?

"Half a month? That's too long." Romain looked around. The view here was open, and it was clear that the location had been carefully chosen.

He was not afraid of enemies.

This place was a basin surrounded by high mountains and natural barriers. There were only a few passable roads. Marching an army here was no easier than secretly crossing Yinping to strike directly at Shu Han.

Half a month was too long?

Mol was on the verge of collapse. Sweat began to seep from his forehead again as he wiped it again and again with his handkerchief.

"Then give me ten days..."

"Ten days is still too long." Romain glanced over the site.

The Slaves were somewhat at a loss over his arrival. Was he here to inspect their work?

They did not dare raise their heads to look at him. They could only keep working, each of them looking half-dead.

"You Commoners, the honorable man before you is your master, Lord Romain Armor-Splitting. Without Lord Romain, you would go hungry..." Mol stepped forward according to custom and began loudly lecturing them.

Romain thought it was all bullshit. He took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and revealed his strong, powerful arms.

Mol turned around and was immediately dumbfounded.

He watched as Romain walked up to four ragged Slaves and, amid their terrified stares, hoisted onto his shoulder a log that the four of them had struggled to carry together.

Mol nearly fainted. "Lord Romain, you absolutely cannot do such work!"

"Do you want me sleeping out in the wilderness tonight?" Romain shot Mol a displeased look.

He strode to the foundation, grunted, and steadily set the roughly two-hundred-pound log into place with both hands, preparing to construct a simple three-dimensional frame.

"You... you would not demote me to the pigsty, would you?" Mol asked miserably.

A Steward who made his lord work personally would probably not even qualify for the pigsty.

Romain lifted his chin, his expression indifferent. "If I can sleep well tonight."

Mol looked like an eggplant wilted by frost. Clumsily, he stepped forward to support the log. He had never done such lowly work before, but at this moment, he could only grit his teeth and follow along.

Romain looked at the prompt on the virtual panel—

Construction Experience +1

Level 1 Construction: 1\100

Level 1 Planting: 0\100

Level 1 Gathering: 0\100

Level 1 Animal Husbandry: 0\100

Everything would begin with grinding life skills.